childcare with two children?

[missk1989]

We are planning on ttc this summer and i have been thinking alot about childcare after maternity. I recently started working as a teacher and wont have had enough experience to then stay off work for 4 years with a baby. Also, we couldnt afford for me to stay at home but also couldnt afford to put too children in nursery all week. My other half mentioned that he can opt to go part time at work 22 1/2 hours and get 20k(ish). I would be working about 20 hours over 4days so we could probably put the kids in childcare 2 days a week and share the childcare the other 3 days. Our only other option is to ask MIL to have them for 2 days a week but she feeds lo chocolate and cake all the time and lies about it. Also she wont come to us so I would have to pack up two kids and take them the 30 minute journey to hers and then travel to work from there which would take twice as long as from home.
OH said he isnt sure he would be comfortable only working part time but I know it would be me carting two kids accross town and struggling to get to work and back if we ask mil to have them.
How do you cope with two kids in childcare? What would you do?

 

[lau86]

I work 3 days and my mum/ mil has him two days so he's only in nursery one day. My eldest will nearly be 3 when I go back to work so will soon be eligible for his 15 free hours. We also use childcare vouchers so get a tax break on that. There's no question it's more money for us as a family if I work.

 

[lozza1uk]

Honestly? This is why I'm stopping at one because I can't see how the finances, and more importantly logistics work with two in childcare as we have no local family. I don't know what I'd do, but wouldn't rely on mil - what if she didn't want to do it, never mind the chocolate and lies!

 

[Willow82]

We don't have any family nearby either and our finances really suffer with just one! We are paying almost 500 a month for LO to go to nursery three days a week. We are comfortable at the moment but a second child would really stretch us. However, I'm really really broody and want to start ttc for a second child but I just don't know whether we can afford it. Add to that I work in the public sector where a safe job doesn't really exist anymore. Arrrgghhh....why does childcare have to be so goddamn expensive?!!

 

[emyandpotato]

This is exactly why I think that I couldn't have another child for at least a decade. Couldn't afford the fees and my wage as a teacher will be more than OH's, but I don't know what he'd be like as a full time dad.

 

[missk1989]

Honestly? This is why I'm stopping at one because I can't see how the finances, and more importantly logistics work with two in childcare as we have no local family. I don't know what I'd do, but wouldn't rely on mil - what if she didn't want to do it, never mind the chocolate and lies!

She does want to do it. She wanted to have him instead of us sending him to nursery but whilst OH is training he gets 85% off childcare which is the only reason we can afford it.

 

[Icecreamkisse]

I work three days a week and am currently on maternity leave with my six month old. He will be starting nursery in July, joining his sister who is three and has been going since she was 10 months. The fees are crippling to be honest, but we take advantage of the tax break through childcare vouchers and my daughter will now be eligible for her 15 free hours. We planned having our second with this is mind as no way could we afford two at full price, even just for three days. We need my wage in our household and it doesn't just pay for childcare, but I know we're very lucky with this. Childcare is so ridiculously expensive and I can see how it's prohibitve and stops people from having a second whilst already having to pay for one

 

[Quartz]

Same as the previous poster above - childcare issues was the biggest reason we have the age gap that we do. DD was a month into full time school when I started back otherwise we could not have done it. My mum and dad help out as well

 

[xxVickyxx]

I have two boys currently at nursery, i pay £264 per week (thats with 20% discount) i get some help through tax credits, its hard going but i keep telling myself its only for a few years, once their at school i will feel rich! I work 30 hours a week/4 days, i woulf b better off giving my job up but i refuse too and also my boys love nursery so much now xx

 

[Mrs Doddy]

We've had a bit of an age gap to help with this- dd goes to school in September I will go back to work in march so will have one in nursery , I will have to pay for after school club too hopefully the cost will work out ok

 

[Banshee]

I work 22hrs a week over 3 days. My in laws have the boys one day a week and they go to nursery two days per week. It has been financially crippling even with both of us having child care vouchers through our work. At one point we were paying nearly £1000 a month in child care! It's a bit easier now that ds1 gets his 15 free hours a week buy it's still expensive. Ds2 was a happy accident and I honestly think there is no way we would have chosen to have them so close together because it is so financially hard.
It is touch and go whether it is financially worth me being at work by the time you consider the cost of the second car and petrol etc but psychologically I need to work for myself and don't think I could be a SAHM.

 

[Kay_Baby]

I work full time and will have both my boys in nursery 4 days a week from September, I'm lucky that my inlaws take them 1 day as well, even with that it is going to cost me just under £1650 a month, more than I will earn in a month. It will luckily get more affordable from January when DS1 gets some government funded time. We also both take advantage of Childcare vouchers for the tax savings as well to help.

To me though working is more than just what I earn, it's pension contributions, a place in a hard to get into industry, all my professional training and professional subscriptions, worth a small fortune on their own. I know I'm lucky that we can basically write off what I earn for a couple of years.

 

[JASMAK]

We have three in childcare. Morning/after school for my middle, just after school for my eldest and all day childcare for my littlest. It is expensive, but I work full times as does my husband sow e have no choice. We do claim it on our taxes though and that is one thing to consider.

 

[lovelylaura]

Honestly this is why my children are so close together. We can't afford childcare really, well we could for just one but like for many it would mean that about 80% of my pay would go on childcare. We are sucking it up being poor until they are in school. Once this baby is here i'll do an extra day a week to finish my training so once i go back i'll be earning alot more. We wanted more than one child and this is the best situation for us. You just have to figure out what works for you. I would probably in your situation let your MIL have them one day a week then the others use childcare and try and spilt your jobs for a bit. See it as a short term compromise.

 

[aliss]

I make $4k a month and pocket just over $1k thanks to childcare and taxes. We're considering a nanny.

 

[Mummy Bean]

Im looking at selling my left kidney to pay for it.

After my first I went back 4 days a week and my mum had Parker - all fab. Then I fell preg pretty quickly on the assumption she would have both of them at least 2 days a week. then 8 weeks before i was due to leave again my mum hurt her back so can no longer look after them for more then a few hrs here and there.

i then got redundancy, so currently looking for work - but to earn enough to cover child care i need to work 4 days a week and there No jobs out there. Before i worked in London and got paid a premium to do so...but now i want some thing closer to home it all hopeless. I was used to earning nearly 30k now i cant even get work earning 11k.

But I have to have some income as were buying my late grandmothers home later this year and need income on paper for the mortgage application - even tho we could survive on OH income.

However we do have a Nanny share. we took her on for the last few weeks i was at work and ended up sending Parker 1 or 2 days a week to give me time with baby. She looks after 2 other kids and takes Parker to there house...so ends up cheaper.

She offered to look after both boys all day (8-5.30) for only £65 which amazing but the new house will be in the complete wrong area for her.

so completely stuck as what to do.

But as for advice i would deff recommend looking at a Nanny/ Nanny share as often much cheaper then a nursery setting as it often one price regardless of amount children.